Bottle crate



April 11, 1939. J. F. MAURER. JR

BOTTLE CRATE Filed April 7. 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H llllllllllll AT TORNEYS Patented Apr. 11, 1939 2 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CRATE JohnvF. Maurer, Jr., North Bergen, N. J.

Application April 7, 1937', Serial No. 135,460

3 Claims. (01. 217-35) This invention relates to bottle crates and In the drawings: while not necessarily restricted thereto the same Fig. 1- is a top plan view of a milk bottle crate is especially directed. to an improved element for equipped with an ice supporting shelf and bottlemilk bottle crates which element serves. in the partitioning member constructed in accordance dual capacity of an inner supporting shelf and a with the invention, parts of the crate being 5-,.

cushioned partitioning means for the bottles. broken away and shown in section todisclose the At the present time, it is customary to profeatures of construction of the device. vide the bottles with stenciled lettering and other Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional indicia which is susceptible to obliteration or viewona relatively larger scale and on a plane marring as a result of scratching of the bottle designated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 10.:

surfaces on rough or hard partition elements, Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken and it is therefore an aim of this invention to approximately onthe line 33 of Fig. 1

provide a bottle partitioning means including Fig. 4- is a detail sectional view taken approxicontact portions of a soft, yieldable, resilient mamately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

1| terial which, in addition to preventing scratching Fig. 5- is a. transverse sectional View similar to 1d of the bottle surfaces which contact therewith, Figs. 2and 3 throug-h an ice supporting shelf and reduces to a marked degree the noise incident bottle partitioning member illustrating a modto the clashing of the bottles with metallic partiification of the invention.

tion surfaces. Fig; dis a bottom plan view of one of the fin- It is also common practice recently to utilize gers. 20 what is known as snow ice as a cooling medium Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken approxifor maintaining the contents of the bottles at a mately on the line ll of Fig. 5. safe temperature during transportation and de Referring to the drawings by characters of livery, and it is therefore essential to provide a reference, l0 and ll designate respectively thesupport for this type of coolingmedium which vertical side and end walls of the crate structure 25 approximately fills the spaces between the; bottles which. are preferably of wood and either of single so as to retain said. medium in place. panel or a slatted construction as shown, and More particularly the invention comprehends said walls are provided on their inner surfaces: a: combined ice supporting shelf. and bottle parwith grooves l2 to receive the marginal edges ti-tioning member which is fashioned from sheet of the combined ice. supporting shelf and bottle. 36

metal or an. equivalent material provided with. partitioning member designated generally by the bottle receiving openings approximating the size reference character l3 which constitutes the and, shape of the bottles with vertically slotted present invention and which is constructed as a fingers depending from and circumferentially unit for incorporation in the crate structure.

spaced about said openings, together with means Preferably the unit is fashioned from sheet. 35;

for connecting in spaced. opposed relation the metal, such as galvanized iron, which is cut, bent mating fingers of adjacent openings so as to and formed by suitable dies to provide rows: of define mountings for substantially cylindrical bottle receiving. openings I4. approximating the. resilient contact elements, the opposite portions size and shape of the bottles. In order to. render 40 of which protrude through the slots and extend the unit I 3 sufficiently rigid against bending 40 radially inward beyond the peripheries of the without the necessity of utilizing sheet material openings. of too great a weight, longitudinal and transverse As a further feature the invention resides in a beads l5 and I6 are formed which extend between bottle crate unit of the indicated character which adjacent openings, the beads preferably teris so fashioned and emplaced as to permit of the minating in spaced relation to the marginal 45 use of relatively thin, light-Weight material posedges. The unit is further strengthened by sesslng requisite strength to withstand the usage downturned flanges I! at the outer marginal to which it is subjected. edges and by annular downturned flanges I8 sur- With the above enumerated and other objects rounding the bottle receiving openings I4. in view, the invention is set forth in greater de- In order to center the bottles in the openings 50 tail in the following specification, illustrated in M and to maintain them in spaced relation to the accompa y wings in which several and out of contact with the walls of the openforms thereof are disclosed, while the claims ings I4, while preventing contact of the bottle cover variations and modifications which fall surfaces therewith and scratching of the same within the scope of the invention. when emplacing or removing the bottles from the 55 crate, soft yieldable resilient contact elements l9 are circumferentially distributed about the openings with their peripheries extending radially inward beyond the peripheries of the openings.

The contact elements are preferably of rubber or any equivalent soft yieldable resilient material and are preferably, as shown, of cylindrical formation, hollow or tubular elements being shown in the present instance although, obvious- 10 ly, they may be solid or of a different shape within the scope of the invention.

The elements 19 are supported in juxtaposition to the openings by means of mating pairs of fingers 20 which are preferably integral with the unit l3 and bent downwardly therefrom and formed from the material cut from adjacent openings I4. As shown,the fingers are provided with vertical slots 2i of slightly greater length than the length of the elements [9 and of 20 slightly lesser width than the diameter of the elements l9. Suitable means is provided for connecting in spaced opposed relation the mating fingers of adjacent openings and as herein disclosed this is accomplished by forming the opposite side edges of the fingers with fianges 22 which abut with the corresponding flanges of the mating finger. The lower ends of the fingers are offset inwardly as at-23 towards each other and are suitably secured together. As illustrated,

clips 24 are provided for securing the lower ends of the fingers against separation and the connecting or bight portion 25 of the clips provides a supporting surface for the lower end of each element IS. The elements l9 are preferably capable 550f rotation within the fingers so as to present-new contact surfaces for increasing the length of life of the contact elements.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and '7, the unit 33' constituting 40rthe bottle partitioning member and ice supporting shelf is of the same general construction as that disclosed in the first form of the invention but in this instance the soft yieldable resilient contact elements 3| which are of tubular forma- ;tion are supported in juxtaposition to the bottle receiving openings of the unit by contractive engagement about the mating pairs of fingers 32 which are preferably integral with the unit and bent downwardly therefrom and formed from the ;:material cut from adjacent openings. As shown in this instance, the lower extremities of the fingers are provided with T-shaped heads 33 which retain the elements 3| in place against unintentional axial displacement. The radial portions ofthe fingers are formed with longitudinally extending ribs. 34 which are directed towards each other while the outer edges are provided with inwardly directed abutting flanges 35 making for a rigid construction.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined ice supporting shelf and bottle partitioning member for bottle crates, comprising a single unitary panel of sheet material, cut, bent and formed to provide a plurality of bottle receiving openings, vertically slotted fingers depending from and circumferentially spaced about said openings with adjacent fingers of adjacent openings disposed in parallel mating relation, means at the opposite edges of said mating fingers for spacing the same from each other, means for connecting the fingers at their lower ends, and cylindrical resilient elements of greater diameter than the width of the slots and the spacing of the mating fingers mounted between said mating fingers with diametrically opposite portions thereof protruding through the slotted portions of the fingers and extending inwardly beyond the edges of the openings.

2. A combined ice supporting shelf and bottle partitioning member for bottle crates, comprising a single unitary panel of sheet material cut, bent and formed to provide a plurality of bottle receiving openings, vertically slotted fingers depending from and circumferentially spaced about said openings with adjacent fingers of adjacent openings disposed in parallel mating relation, means at the opposite edges of said mating fingers for spacing the same from each other, means for connecting the fingers at their lower ends, and tubular cylindrical resilient elements of greater diameter than the width of the finger. slots and the spacing of the mating fingers mounted for rotation between the mating fingers with diametrically opposite portions thereof protruding through the slotted portions of the fingers and extending inwardly beyond the edges of the openings.

3. A combined ice supporting shelf and bottle partitioningmember for bottle crates, comprising a single unitary panel of sheet material cut, bent and formed to provide a plurality of bottle receiving openings, vertically slotted fingers depending from and circumferentially spaced about said openings with adjacent fingers of adjacent openings disposed in parallel mating relation, means for spacing said mating fingers from each other, means for connecting the fingers at their lower ends, and resilient elements of greater cross sectional size than the width of the slots and the spacing of the mating fingers and mounted between the mating fingers With opposite portions thereof protruding through the slotted portions of the fingers and extending inwardly beyond the edges of the openings.

JOHN F. MAURER, JR. 

